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A judge on Thursday ordered that three items in a former Ventura police officer’s personnel file be turned over to attorneys involved in the murder trial against his ex-wife.

Both prosecutors and defense attorneys in defendant Gina Drake’s case had asked the court to look into the confidential file after certain statements made by her ex-husband, Aaron Drake, surfaced in suicide notes he sent family and colleagues. He attempted to fatally shoot himself in a Ventura Police Department locker room in July but survived the incident.

Attorneys claimed the statements he made could jeopardize his credibility as a witness in the trial.

Ventura County Superior Court Judge Gilbert Romero sided with the defense and prosecution over the objection of Ventura Assistant City Attorney Dirk DeGenna. Police officer personnel files are not public record.

After reviewing the file, Romero ordered the city to give a video, the contact information of a witness and statements from another witness to both sides by Feb. 22.

“My understanding in reading the affidavits, the declarations, is Mr. Drake seems to be a significant participant in the litigation and his credibility seems significant. Both counsel has made good cause to look at his file for credibility or veracity,” Romero said.

Thursday’s hearing marked some movement in a criminal case that began with Gina Drake’s arrest in 2012 for the 2009 homicide.

The victim, 61-year-old Wendy DiRodio, was found stabbed to death in her locked, first-floor bedroom at her parents’ home in the 2800 block of Sailor Avenue in the Ventura Keys section of Ventura on June 3, 2009.

DiRodio’s niece, Gina Drake, 51, was arrested and charged with the murder in May 2012. The defendant was married to Aaron Drake when the homicide was reported but he filed for divorce soon after she became a suspect in the investigation. She has pleaded not guilty.

Wendy Di Rodio, 61, was found dead in her locked, first-floor bedroom about 3 p.m. June 3, 2009 at her elderly parents' home. She was stabbed two days after her birthday.(Photo: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

Aaron Drake continued to be employed by the Ventura Police Department months after his summer suicide attempt but as of Dec. 15 no longer worked for the agency.

Gina Drake’s defense attorneys Mark Pachowicz and Kathleen Crouch filed motions in January arguing the basis for looking into Aaron Drake’s employment file, alleging he had a hand in getting her arrested in the first place. Their court filings state that he wore a wire, made cool-calls and provided statements to authorities as the investigation was underway.

But it was prosecutors who first requested that the court look into Aaron Drake’s file.

In a November court filing, Special Assistant District Attorney Michael Schwartz claimed that if the statements made in his suicide notes are true, they could be relevant to his credibility. If they are not true, it could be relevant to his mental health or state of mind, Schwartz wrote.

He also noted that prosecutors have a “duty” to disclose exculpatory evidence to the defense.

With his client and Crouch seated next to him, Pachowicz joined in the prosecution’s motion. He also argued a separate motion that the defense submitted asking that the court also look at the personnel files of four other Ventura police officers involved in the DiRodio murder investigation.

DeGenna, the city of Ventura’s attorney, argued that attorneys in the homicide case presented no factual basis for looking into the personnel records and refuted that the four officers involved in the murder investigation showed any bias.

“There’s absolutely no evidence or allegations that the officers had any bias,” DeGenna said.

Romero sided with DeGenna when denying the defense’s motion, saying there was not enough information shown about the four other officers for him to look into their files.

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A Ventura County Sheriff's van is parked outside the Ventura Police Station Friday evening. A 47-year-old officer shot himself in the station's locker room and was rushed to the hospital. The sheriff's office is investigating the incident.(Photo: ARLENE MARTINEZ/THE STAR)

But there was good cause for Romero to look at Aaron Drake’s.

As dictated by law, Romero, DeGenna and the “custodian” of the file, Ventura Police Department Cmdr. Ryan Weeks, went behind closed doors to do an in-camera review of the file.

Pachowicz requested to be there, which Romero denied.

After requesting additional documents for the review, Romero ultimately disclosed the three items from Aaron Drake’s employment file that he found potentially relevant.

It was unclear whether the defense planned to continue its efforts to look at the other four officers’ files.

“We’ll look and see if there is something we can add,” Pachowicz said after the hearing.

Attorneys are scheduled to return to Courtroom 25 to argue other motions at 9 a.m. March 2.